THE CUBA RE V I E W 



11 



Tlie minister of Cuba at 



Cannot Re- Christiania wrote recently 



move Span- to the secretary of state, 

 ish Hulks advising that the Interna- 

 tional Byergnings Company 

 has proposed to undertake the raising of 

 the remains of the Spanish steamers 

 which went down in the bay of Santiago 

 siderable proportions. Her salvage, prob- 

 ably, would be the most difficult of the 

 ten per cent salvage basis. 



The secretary of the treasury, having 

 been consulted whether this could be 

 authorized or not, said that this could not 

 be authorized without previous agreement 

 between the governments of Cuba and the 

 United States, as the judicial state of 

 these remains has not yet been decided. 



The Cuban government referred the re- 

 quest to the United States and Secretary 

 Knox, in an opinion, holds that these 

 wrecks are the property of this govern- 

 ment and it will require an act of Con- 

 gress to grant permission to the Norwe- 

 gian company. 



The Department of State is inclined to 

 the view that the Spanish ships destroyed 

 by the United States forces in war on what 

 was then Spanish territorj- became the 

 property of the victors and passed with 

 Spain's relinquishment of Cuba into the 

 absolute possession of the United States. 



Secretary Knox's opinion that the wrecks 

 belong to the United States, have revived 

 speculation in Santiago, Cuba, as to the 

 possibility of refloating the ships. En- 

 gineers who have studied the location of 

 the three battleships and two torpedo boats 

 think salvage is practicable and would 

 warrant its expense. 



Seven miles west of the narrow mouth 

 to Santiago harbor lies the first of Cer- 

 vera's bottled-up battleships, the "Almi- 

 rante Oquendo." She is beached in the 

 breakers of Juan Gonzales, with about one- 

 third of her hulk visible above the vvhite 

 caps. Long ago she was stripped of every 

 portable article by wreckers, says the New 

 York World. They took everything they 

 could pry loose, including, report has it, 

 many thousand golden coins from the 

 ship's safe. 



Admiral Cevera's flagship, the "Vizcaya," 

 lies eight miles further down the rocky 

 coast, as much a victim of the depredations 

 of ocean junkmen as the "Oquendo." A 

 third of her form breaks the land line and 

 it is believed that there would be compara- 

 tively little difficulty in recovering her, al- 

 though she would be worthless, it is 

 thought, as a vessel of war. 



Nearly two hours' sail from the "Viz- 

 caya," at Rio Torquino, fortj^-eight miles 

 from Santiago, is the third of the four 

 Spanish ships, the "Christobal Colon." The 



"Colon" has been preserved from tiie hand 

 of the vandal by four fathoms of water 

 above her. Locked in her safe there is 

 said to be a large amount of money. 

 Aboard her nothing has been disturbed 

 since she was silenced by American guns 

 and run ashore to prevent her capture. The 

 water is comparatively deep at the point 

 where she lies and the land rises abruptly 

 from the sea, a sheer recipice of con- 

 siderable proportions. Her salvage prob- 

 able would be the most difficult of the 

 three, engineers assert. 



The history of the fourth vessel of the 

 fleet, the "Infanta Maria Teresa," is well 

 known. She was floated by Lieutenant 

 Richmond P. Hobson of Merrimac fame 

 and lost off Cat Island in the West Indies 

 while in tow of an American war vessel 

 on her way to an American port during 

 a squall. Engineers have declared her 

 not worthy a second attempt at salvage. 



The two secondary vessels of Admiral 

 Cevera's fleet, the torpedo boats "Furor" 

 and "Pluton," lie submerged not far from 

 the harbor entrance. The safe of the 

 "Pluton" and easily portable articles from 

 her deck and cabins have been recovered. 

 The "Furor" is practically undisturbed. 

 Both lie in comparatively shallow water. 



Dr. Francisco Carrera Justiz, formerly 

 Cuban minister to Holland, has been trans- 

 ferred to Mexico. Vice-General Enrique 

 Loynaz del Castillo has resigned his 



ofiice. 



LA OBRA DEL ROQUE 



EL ROGUE: — \Jale duro, Camard! A ver si 

 salgo de estas inundaciones! 



Calling for help from the annual inundations 



